Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected the US's estimated, unconditional 30-day ceasefire and dragged the peace process out of the need for “war” to continue Ukraine.
After “quickly” agreeing to President Trump's ceasefire proposal on Tuesday, Zelensky in posts to x Putin told Special President's envoy, Steve Witkov, that he “doesn't want a ceasefire” as he left Moscow on Friday without a deal.
“Putin is lying about the real situation on the battlefield, he is lying about the victims, he is lying about the true state of his economy, which is eroding by his stupid empire ambitions and doing everything he can to ensure that diplomacy fails,” Zelensky said. “President Putin cannot end this war because it leaves him nothing.
The fear, Zelensky said, “By setting very difficult and unacceptable conditions from the start, he is doing everything he can to block diplomacy, even before a ceasefire.”
“Putin tries to drag him into endless debate that he has wasted days, weeks, and months with meaningless talks while guns continue to kill people,” he said. “But we need peace. True peace. And we must not drag war into it.”
Unlike Putin, Zelensky said he “quickly” agreed to a proposal calling for a complete ceasefire to Trump's proposal.
The Ukrainian president has admitted that there are conditions his government would require in the final peace deal, but reminded him that it is Trump's plan to stop the fight before kicking the negotiations.
“Of course we're thinking about security assurances. Of course we're thinking about how to control the ceasefire. But we need to have a first step,” Zelensky said of his decision to agree to Trump's proposal. “During the period of silence, we were able to prepare a reliable peace plan, put it on the table, discuss the details, and implement it.”
“We're ready,” he added.
To make that happen, the Ukrainian president urged “all who can influence Russia, especially the United States” to commit to Moscow to Trump's proposed ceasefire agreement.
“We have to put pressure on those who don't want to stop the war,” the Ukrainian president said. “We need to put pressure on Russia. Only decisive actions can end this war, but it has already been going on for years.”
Trump temporarily suspended remittances and intelligence sharing of military aid with Ukraine in the week before the successful ceasefire talks with Kiev on Tuesday, threatening economic sanctions to Russia, but has yet to take forceful action to make Putin agree with his proposal.
“We believe it is our partner's responsibility to ensure that Russia is ready to end the war, and that's not to look for reasons to continue for more weeks, months or years, but to end it,” Zelensky said. “Putin will not end the war on his own, but America's strength is enough to make it happen.”
“We need a strong step. The only person who wants to continue this war needs to put strong pressure on us. This is what “peace by force” means,” he adds, referring to one of Trump's favorite quotes from former President Ronald Reagan.
The Ukrainian President concluded his message with “Thank you” to “the United States, Europe and the whole world, everyone who helps bring peace closer.”
“We support our American partners and President Trump in this. We want to trust America and its president. Ukraine is ready to act quickly and constructively, and we warned that we wouldn't be the only aspect of trying to sabotage everything.”
